Gwendolen and Cecily
by Vol lady
Summary: Nick strikes a new kind of deal for cattle with a man in Sacramento. Then they find out Jarrod represented the man's wife in their divorce three years earlier. Uh-oh.
1. Chapter 1

(Note – Gwendolen and Cecily first appear in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. They also turn up in Travesties by Tom Stoppard and as the Pigeon Sisters in The Odd Couple by Neil Simon. I borrowed them for a return engagement.)

Gwendolen and Cecily

Chapter 1

Jarrod Barkley did not often go on a cattle drive, but this one was a speculation on Nick's part. He had a prospective buyer on the other end of the drive, but no contract.

"Whoa, wait a minute," Jarrod said when Nick announced his intentions. "You're herding two hundred head of cattle all the way to Sacramento and you don't have a contract for them?"

"It's not much worse than herding them to an open market," Nick said with a shrug.

"But there's no market where you're going. You have to reach an agreement with one man – _one man_ – and if you don't, what are you going to do? Turn around and herd all that cattle back here?"

"There's risk, I admit it," Nick said. "But the market in California isn't much this year. This buyer wants to put cattle on freight trains and ship them east to Grand Junction where there is a market. He can get cattle there in two days instead of nigh onto forever, but he needs cattle to ship. I think we can make a deal."

Jarrod looked to Heath for his reaction, but Heath just shrugged a little. "Nick thinks it's worth the gamble," Heath said.

Jarrod rolled his eyes.

Victoria said, "Why don't you go with them, Jarrod?"

"Pappy?" Nick said, rolling his own eyes. "Herding cattle?"

"Nick, I was herding cattle before your feet reached the stirrups, and I've herded cattle for you before," Jarrod said. "But you don't negotiate and write contracts."

"So you'd come with us?" Heath asked.

"It would make your venture less risky," Victoria said. "And you could have your contract negotiated and signed a lot more quickly."

Nick saw some logic in what his mother was saying. "Are you willing to go?" Nick asked Jarrod.

"Sure, I can go," Jarrod said. "If you're leaving in the next day or two."

Nick said. "We plan to be out of here the day after tomorrow. But you better not be dead weight, big brother. If you were herding cattle before my feet reached the stirrups, you better plan on doing some herding now."

"I'll hold my own," Jarrod said. "Who's the buyer?"

"The man's name is Abel Hill," Nick said.

Jarrod looked like lightning had struck him.

Heath noticed first. "What's the matter?"

"You didn't tell me who we were selling to," Jarrod said.

"Abel Hill," Heath said. "You know him?"

"Far too well," Jarrod grumbled.

Jarrod's answer drew Nick's attention. "What's the matter with him?"

"Nothing that I know of when it comes to business, really," Jarrod said.

"Then why do you look so unhappy?" Audra asked.

"That's a little awkward to explain," Jarrod said. He looked around at everyone and knew he wasn't going to get away with an answer like that. Jarrod heaved a sigh. "I represented his wife in their divorce."

"Aw, Jarrod – " Nick moaned. "You took every last cent he had, didn't you?"

"Obviously not, if he's putting together business deals like the one you described. But it did cost him and he did end up having to pay my fee."

"Aw, Jarrod – " Nick repeated.

Jarrod left things at that, but later on in the evening, as they were heading for bed, Jarrod took his brothers aside while his mother and sister were not around. He stopped his brothers in the hall. "Nick, Heath, there's one more thing I need to tell you about my previous experience with Abel Hill. There's this occupational hazard for a lawyer who represents a wife wanting a divorce."

Nick had no trouble imagining. "You didn't."

"No, I didn't," Jarrod said. "There was never anything between us, but Gwendolen thought there was."

"Gwedolen," Nick said.

"The former Mrs. Hill."

Nick just moaned. "This Gwendolen's not still around, is she?"

"I don't know where she is," Jarrod said, "but I don't think Hill knew how she felt. It didn't complicate the divorce, anyway."

Nick and Heath looked at each other. "What do you think, Jarrod?" Heath asked. "Is this gonna affect our business with Hill?"

"If it was going to, it would have by now," Jarrod said. "He knows your names. He knows we're kin."

Heath gave a shrug to Nick. "We're kind of in a bind now. We told him we'd bring him the beef."

"He'll sue if you don't get them there," Jarrod agreed.

"Even if he can turn them down?" Nick said.

"You said you'd get them there, whether he accepts them or not, didn't you?" Jarrod said.

Nick and Heath both nodded. Heath said, "We gave our word."

"I promise you, my previous business with Hill will not affect how I do business with him now," Jarrod finished and headed on down the hall to his room.

Nick made a fist and sneered. "One day I'm gonna take big brother by the shirt front and – "

"Careful, Nick, he hits back," Heath said and went on to his room.

XXXXXXX

The drive north was uneventful, and the Barkley men arrived at Abel Hill's home more quickly than they anticipated. Feeling heartened, they dismounted in front of the man's big house and soon found Hill waiting for them on the porch.

"Welcome, gentlemen, welcome!" Hill said cheerfully. "I'm glad you made it so fast! How are you, Nick? Heath?"

As Nick shook hands with Hill, he said, "Abel, I think you know my brother Jarrod."

"I know Jarrod very well," Hill said. "How are you, Counselor? It's been a while."

"A few years," Jarrod said, and they shook hands.

"I'm surprised to see you," Hill said. "And surprised you'd agree to do business with me."

"I'm a little surprised myself," Jarrod said.

"Well, come on in, have a drink, let's talk," Hill said and led them inside.

Hill's home was spacious and comfortable. He led the Barkley men into a large study off the main foyer, where he invited them to sit down before he headed for the refreshment table. "Is scotch still your drink, Jarrod?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you," Jarrod said and sat down in a leather armchair.

"Whiskey for me," Nick said.

"Heath?" Hill asked.

"I think I'll pass for the time being," Heath said and sat on a sofa.

Hill delivered the drinks and then poured one of his own. "So," he said, "I trust the drive was uneventful."

"No problems at all," Nick said. "We have two hundred prime head ready for you as soon as we settle on the terms. Just when are you planning to ship?"

"As soon as I can," Hill said. "Putting aside all the niceties, I'm willing to pay you ten percent off the price at Grand Junction this morning. That will cover my shipping costs and give me a small profit and we'll all be happy, because this morning, the price at Grand Junction was a good fifteen percent higher than the high price at any of the markets within 100 miles of Stockton."

"You won't mind if we check that out for ourselves," Nick said.

"Not at all, but check it out and make up your mind fast, because tomorrow I'll be offering with reference to tomorrow morning's price at Grand Junction, and you know how prices can move."

"Indeed I do," Nick said, "but I doubt you're expecting them to go down by the time you get these cattle there."

Hill chuckled. "Of course not, but that's my gamble in this deal, isn't it? If we make this deal, I can pay you today. You can be on your way home and I can be moving those cattle to the railhead before sundown."

Nick looked over at Heath, who got up, saying, "I'll go on into Sacramento and be right back," and he left.

"In the meantime," Hill said, "I've already sent my foreman out to look at your herd, so as soon as Heath comes back and my foreman comes back, we can complete our deal. Now, Mr. Counselor, I suppose you want a look at my draft contract."

"I do," Jarrod said.

"You're not gonna charge me for the look-see, are you?"

Hill laughed as he said it, but Jarrod's laugh was less than funny.

Hill said, "I'll just go get it while you tell Nick all about our previous encounter, because he sure doesn't know it all, does he?"

Hill left the room chuckling, and Nick immediately turned on his older brother, glaring. "What the hell is he talking about? Is there more to this than you've said?"

Jarrod scratched his forehead. "Not that I knew of then, but I think he just told me he found out how Gwendolen felt about me."

"Aw, Jarrod – "

Hill came back into the room, carrying the draft contract he went to get, and he held it out to Jarrod, saying, "Did you tell him all about our previous get-together, Jarrod?"

"I told him," Jarrod said, calmly taking the papers from Hill.

Hill laughed. "Helluva thing, isn't it, Nick? How old times can come around to bite you in the hind quarters?"

"Well," Nick said awkwardly, "this is another time and another transaction, Abel. Let's not let my brother's line of work ruin our business."

"Of course not," Hill said. "Why don't I just step out for a spell and let the two of you look over this contract? I think you'll find it's fair. I'm not looking for blood or – revenge."

Jarrod moaned inwardly. Sure he wasn't.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jarrod made a funny, unhappy sound. Nick wasn't really surprised, but he quickly asked, "What's the matter?"

Jarrod looked at the contract Hill proposed and pointed to a particular provision. "He's got an arbitration clause in here. If he doesn't get the highest market price in Grand Junction on the day his cattle arrive, he can take us to arbitration to determine whether we owe him money for our cattle not being the quality as required by the contract. And the arbitrator has to come from Sacramento."

"You don't like that."

"No, I don't. There's no telling what two days in freight cars are going to do to the quality of the cattle we're delivering. You need to insist that quality be judged as of here and today, and Hill bears the risk of whatever the market judges them to be when he gets them to Grand Junction." Jarrod took his pencil and crossed out the clause.

"What if he wants to reduce the price if you strike that clause?"

"It's up to you to decide whether to accept a different price."

Nick chewed his lip. "I really don't want to take these critters back to Stockton."

"Neither do I, Nick, but it's not a good idea to leave the price open-ended like this clause would make it. And here we go with another one."

"What?"

"If he can't sell the cattle at all in Grand Junction for the price he wants, he wants us to reimburse him for half of his losses, whether he ships them back here or takes whatever he can get from whomever he can get to take them in Colorado." Jarrod struck out that clause too.

"Have you ever seen clauses like this before?" Nick asked.

"No," Jarrod said.

"So – is this Hill putting the screws to you for the divorce? He knew you were our brother."

Jarrod leaned back in the chair. "He could be. But this whole deal is something new, so it could be he's just trying to cover any eventuality of loss the best way he can. He might do this to anybody." Jarrod rubbed his eyes.

"How's the rest of the contract?" Nick asked.

"Looks pretty standard," Jarrod said.

"Do you think we ought to throw him any bones on this?"

"That's your decision, Nick, but I'd tell him we're not going for either of these clauses. It's not up to us to make up his losses if this idea of his doesn't work out the way he wants."

Heath came back then, coming in the door and already saying, "Hill is right about the prices in Grand Junction and the markets here. Grand Junction this morning was about fifteen percent higher than the best market price here."

"There are a couple clauses in the contract Jarrod doesn't like," Nick said.

"Have you talked to Hill about them yet?" Heath asked.

Jarrod shook his head. "What do you want to do, Nick? Shall we dig our heels in on this?"

"What do we have to offer him to strike those clauses?" Nick asked.

"Not much," Jarrod said. "We could take a price of twelve percent off the Grand Junction price instead of ten, but I wouldn't go any lower. We'd be just above breaking even on our costs of raising them and getting them here."

"We could offer him some up front cash," Heath suggested.

"Not enough to make him happy," Jarrod said.

"What was your fee on the divorce?" Nick asked.

Jarrod nearly shot up out of his chair. "What?!"

"Give him some of that fee money back and strike those clauses," Nick said. "That would get this all settled today like we want and it would probably make him plum happy."

Jarrod stood up. "Nick, why should I be paying him for our cattle?"

"To close out the deal," Nick said. "It's just a question of what ledger the money comes out of."

"It's not coming out of mine," Jarrod said. "That book was closed and audited three years ago. I paid my taxes on it, and I'm not buying our cattle with it. If you want to give him cash, give him some out of your ledger for this year."

"Let me remind you that it's not 'my' ledger – it's 'our' ledger," Nick said. "We could pay him out of your share of the deal and he'd be happy as a clam."

"I wouldn't be," Jarrod said.

Hill came back in at that point. From the look on his face, he could tell the Barkley men were arguing about Jarrod's money, and he liked that a lot. "Tell you what, boys," he said. "Whatever it is you don't like about the contract, I'll consider striking it if you pay me in cash half of what I paid the counselor here for my divorce."

"How much is that, Jarrod?" Nick asked.

"Too much," Jarrod said, glaring at Hill. "Abel, these clauses are in here just so you can squeeze money out of me, aren't they?"

"Not at all," Hill said. "They're in there to cover my risk. If you want the price for your cattle that's set out there in the contract, then you have to accept the clauses, or give me a little something to make them go away."

Jarrod cursed and turned away. Hill smiled an ugly smile. Even Nick and Heath were beginning to think they would not pay a dime to get rid of those clauses.

"Looks like we're taking our cattle home," Nick said. "Abel, I hope your contract with the railroad lets you out of shipping any cattle without a penalty, because you won't be getting ours."

Nick headed for the door, Heath and Jarrod preparing to follow, but Hill said, "Now, wait just a minute, Nick. Let's not call off a good deal just over a few words. Let's see what we can do to make this problem go away."

"Strike the clauses," Jarrod said.

"Let's see what you can give me to make that happen," Hill said.

"Do you have any suggestions other than cash?" Jarrod asked.

"Well, maybe," Hill said with another ugly smile he directed at Jarrod. "Jarrod, I'm getting married again."

"What, you want to line me up as your divorce lawyer now so she doesn't get me later?" Jarrod asked.

Hill laughed at Jarrod's sarcasm. "That's funny, Counselor. No, what I had in mind was a little pre-emptive agreement. Write me up an agreement with my intended to set forth which of us will get what in the event we do ever divorce. You and I will talk this out, you can draw up the agreement and negotiate it with her attorney if she hires one, and our agreement on the cattle goes through without those clauses in the contract."

Jarrod's first thought was to find out who his intended was and have her hire him to write up such an agreement for her. "And I suppose you plan to pay me for my services?" Jarrod asked.

"Of course," Hill said. "Ten percent off your going rate."

"Not a chance," Jarrod said and headed for the door.

"All right, five percent, with a cap," Hill said. "I won't discount your bill in any amount greater than what I paid you for my divorce from Gwendolen."

"Oh, I knew blood money was behind this, Hill," Jarrod snarled.

"Wait a minute," Nick said. "Jarrod, why don't you and I and Heath step aside and discuss this?"

Jarrod glared at his younger brother.

Hill said, "No, just talk about it here. I'll step out. I need to go see how my dinner is progressing anyway." He practically strutted toward the door. "I'll see you in about five minutes," he said and went out.

Jarrod glared at both his younger brothers now. "One way or another, Hill is gonna want money out of me to get this deal to go through."

"Jarrod, if we don't make this deal today, we're gonna take that herd back home and we're a going to take a big hit," Nick said.

"So I take the hit instead?" Jarrod said. "Just to satisfy this – pompous bully's desire to get back at me for his divorce?"

"You will be making some money on the deal," Nick said. "He'll pay you for drawing up that agreement on his new marriage."

"At a discount from my regular fee," Jarrod said. "No matter how you look at it, it's money coming from me, and who says I want to work for this blowhard anyway?"

"You could change your rates, or pad your bill," Nick suggested.

"And that would get me an ethics complaint," Jarrod said, "which would make Hill even happier."

"Jarrod," Heath offered, "do you want to herd two hundred head back to Stockton?"

Jarrod heaved an aggravated sigh. All he could think about now was the fastest and least painful way to get out of this mess, and he did not like the answer he was coming up with.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Abel Hill was a happy man. His men had taken over the Barkley cattle and were driving them to the railhead even as he and the Barkleys completed their business at the bank. The two clauses in the contract the Barkleys objected to were stricken, Hill was watching Jarrod Barkley make a bank draft out to him for a quarter of the amount he had paid Jarrod three years earlier in his divorce and there was still enough in the deal so that the Barkley ranch enterprise made money, even if Jarrod took a hit he wasn't happy with. Hill didn't mind eating the other part of Jarrod's fee. It was worth the pleasure of seeing the anger in Jarrod Barkley's face.

Jarrod handed him the bank draft. "There, Hill," Jarrod said. "We're done with you."

Nick deposited the draft Hill had written him for the herd. Since Jarrod had an account at this bank, Nick put the money in there. That took a bit of the sting of this transaction for Jarrod, and Nick figured Jarrod would be over it by the time they got home and they adjusted his account there with the Barkley accounts there. Ultimately, the money would end up where it belonged, and Hill could feel like he'd gotten his pound of flesh out of Jarrod.

Hill grinned as he deposited Jarrod's draft into this account. "A pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen," he said. He shook hands with each of the Barkleys, taking a little longer with Jarrod and squeezing Jarrod's hand a little harder.

Jarrod was a stronger man and would like to have broken Hill's hand, but he let his manners rule the day and just made sure his grip was as strong as Hill's. Hill ultimately laughed a little and went out of the bank.

Heath said, "I could use a drink."

"You're not alone," Jarrod muttered. "Did you send the boys home already?"

Nick nodded. The men who had made the drive with them were already on the road back to Stockton.

"Well, then, let's check in at the hotel and I'll take you two to dinner at my favorite place that accepts grubby trail hands."

Nick and Heath both smiled. Jarrod was already beginning to get over this near fiasco.

Jarrod seemed even more like himself when they met in the lobby of the hotel, cleaned up somewhat but except for fresh shirts, still in their trail clothes. "What's this place we're going to and how did they let you in in your business clothes?"

They went out the door together and headed down the street. "I've been in Sacramento looking like the two of you before," Jarrod said. "I found this place six months ago when I was up here looking at some horses for you, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Nick said. "Nice job you did there, too, Counselor. We already have two mares in foal."

"That was a big favor you did us that time," Heath said. "Nick laid up with his bad back and me running the branding operation. We'd have missed out on those mares if you hadn't come up here."

"All right, you can quit buttering me up," Jarrod said. "I'm already through with Abel Hill. If I never see him again, it'll be too soon."

Jarrod led them into a bar on a back street where the clientele were regular working men. No three piece suits in this place, just farmers and ranchers being catered to by three bartenders and seven barmaids. "Ah, nice," Nick said.

Jarrod spotted a free table, and he and his brothers sat down. It was only a moment later that a barmaid came over, smiling but not really looking at them yet, saying, "Hi, there, fellas. We've got some good pot roast tonight if you're eating."

And then she and Jarrod saw each other, and they both stopped.

"Gwendolen!" Jarrod said, keeping his voice low even though he wasn't sure why he was doing it.

She looked nervous and kept her voice low, too. "Jarrod, I never expected to see you here. Call me Gwen in here, please."

"Gwen," Jarrod said. "Abel doesn't know you're here?"

"Oh, he probably does. He never comes in, but his men do."

Nick and Heath tuned in to their conversation even though the place was loud. But they didn't say a thing.

Jarrod stood up. "Can we go over in the corner there and talk for a minute?"

Gwendolen looked awkward. "Not a good idea right now. I get off at ten. Why don't you come walk me home and we can talk then?"

"All right," Jarrod said, and as he sat back down, he said, "how about three pot roasts and three beers?"

Nick and Heath nodded.

"Coming up," Gwendolen said and left to get their orders.

Nick and Heath eyed their brother, curious. Nick said, "Gwendolen."

Jarrod nodded. "That's Abel Hill's ex-wife, but what she's doing in here, I don't know. She got a decent settlement. She doesn't need to be working here."

Heath said, "Maybe she's just trying to fill the time, meet somebody."

"Maybe," Jarrod said, "but after our little deal with Hill today, I'm wondering if he's given her the short shrift, too."

"I suspect you'll be back at ten o'clock to find out," Nick said.

Jarrod nodded again.

"I don't suppose we need to tell you to be careful, what with the way she felt about you before," Heath said.

"No, you don't need to tell me," Jarrod said. But the way he said it showed he was becoming more troubled the more he thought about this.

Gwendolen brought the beers, and she and Jarrod exchanged uncomfortable smiles before she left again. Nick raised his beer and said, "Here's to – " And then he couldn't think of what to raise his beer to.

"Yeah, here's to it," Jarrod said.

XXXXXXX

At ten o'clock things were still pretty active at the saloon, so Jarrod waited outside until Gwendolen came out. She spotted him right away. He tipped his hat to her and then offered his arm. "I can tell you're going to get straight to the point," Gwendolen said, taking his arm.

They began to walk down the street. "How far is it to your place?" Jarrod asked.

"I'm in a boarding house over on Grove," Gwendolen said.

"A boarding house?" Jarrod asked. "Gwendolen, what's happened? You got a good settlement out of Abel. Why are you living in a boarding house and working in a saloon?"

Gwendolen kept her voice low. "You're not going to like what I'm about to say, but I don't want you to get involved in it. It won't do either of us any good."

"Just tell me," Jarrod said.

Gwendolen sighed. "Abel's quit paying me what he owes."

Now Jarrod was livid with the man all over again. "Why?"

Gwendolen stopped at a corner where no one was around. "He thinks he has evidence that I was unfaithful to him while we were married, so he just stopped, and I've been too ashamed and too broke to force him back into court."

"That isn't right," Jarrod said, "especially if you weren't unfaithful, and you didn't tell me about anyone else."

"That's because there isn't anyone else," Carol said. "Abel's evidence is all baloney, but I don't have the money or the will to fight him on it."

"Why didn't you contact me? Just because the divorce is finalized, it doesn't mean I won't still help you when there are problems."

Gwendolen slumped and sighed and looked decidedly uncomfortable. "Because the man he thinks I was unfaithful with is you."

Now Jarrod was shocked. "Me? Where did he get that idea?" And then he wondered if it was something Gwendolen said that gave it to him.

Gwendolen looked even more uncomfortable. "I was foolish and I wrote you a letter before we even filed for divorce, while we were still talking about it. I never sent you that letter. I don't know why I kept it – I was foolish. He found it. Jarrod, I'm sorry."

"When did he find it?" Jarrod asked.

"After the divorce, when I moved all my things out, I threw a lot away. He found it in the trash. I was foolish, I should have burned it or taken it with me – "

"What did it say, Gwen?"

She looked up at him. In the dim streetlight, Jarrod could see that her eyes were wet. "It said that I loved you. It said that I hoped after I was divorced that you and I might – well, there wasn't anything that should have led him to believe we were having an affair, but he decided there was enough that I wouldn't want the letter to come out. So he quit paying me, knowing that I wouldn't do anything about it."

Jarrod slumped. He'd had women he represented fall in love with him before, but it had never turned into anything like this. He didn't know whether to be more angry with Gwendolen for writing the letter and not destroying it, or with Hill for using it to destroy her. But then, he didn't know exactly what was in the letter.

"Where is the letter now?" Jarrod asked.

"I assume he still has it," Gwendolen said. "I can't imagine he'd throw it away. Jarrod, I'm so sorry, I couldn't fight this because he would have dragged you into it and I couldn't do that to you."

Now Jarrod felt almost guilty, to think Gwendolen was enduring life in a boarding house and a saloon just to keep him from being exposed to trouble for something foolish she had done. "Do you remember exactly what the letter said?" Jarrod asked.

Carol nodded. "Word for word."

They began to walk toward her boarding house again. "All right," Jarrod said. "I want you to write it out again tonight, and I'll take you to breakfast in the morning. You can give it to me then. We'll deal with this somehow."

"No, Jarrod, no," Gwendolen protested. "I don't want you involved. Abel is a mean and vindictive man and I don't want you to be in the position where he can threaten you."

"Don't worry. I have my brothers watching my back, and we know how Abel can be."

"Do your brothers know about me?"

"They know you divorced Abel and I represented you."

"I still want you to just forget about this whole thing."

"No," Jarrod said. "Abel shouldn't be allowed to weasel out of his obligations to you. You earned a better life than this and the court ordered you to have it."

"There are worse lives than working in that saloon. That's exactly where I was working when I met Abel."

Jarrod didn't know that. It had never come up. "Still, he owes you and he should be paying you. You write the letter out and let me think on this overnight. We'll talk again in the morning."

They turned a corner and Gwendolen's boarding house was straight ahead. Jarrod walked her up to the porch, where she stopped. "Jarrod, if we're seen together at breakfast in the morning, it could create more trouble."

"Then we'll talk in the saloon later," Jarrod said. "I'll come in, you can wait on me, it will all be above board and public. One more thing. I still consider you my client and I'll keep your business to myself, but I would like to talk this over with my brothers. Do I have your permission?"

"Would it help?" she asked.

Jarrod smiled a little. "They have some imaginative ideas sometimes, especially with men like Abel."

Gwendolen gave him a little smile. "All right. Jarrod, I'm so sorry about this."

Jarrod nodded. "Let's just see what we can do about it. What time do you go to work?"

"Noon," Gwendolen said.

"I'll see you shortly after that," Jarrod said. "Don't worry. We'll figure this out."

She squeezed his arm with a little nod and then went into the boarding house. Jarrod stood there for a moment and just shook his head. He had no idea how they were going to figure this out and fix it, but he was so mad with Abel Hill to begin with that he was determined to find the way to do it.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

At breakfast with his brothers the next morning, Jarrod told them what was what and that he would be staying behind in Sacramento while they went home. They didn't like that very much.

"We'll stick around, too," Nick said flatly.

Heath said, "We wouldn't want to get home just to have to turn around and come back up here to help you out."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Jarrod said. "But give me time alone with Gwendolen at the saloon this afternoon. I don't think she's gonna be very happy if you two are right there in front of her knowing what she did."

"You got any idea what that letter says?" Nick asked.

"Not much yet," Jarrod said, "but it seems to be enough for Hill to think he can blackmail her with it, and that's what this is – blackmail."

"Then the law ought to help you," Heath said.

"The law doesn't like getting in the middle of domestic disputes, and it doesn't favor women much when it does," Jarrod said. "In this world, it's the woman who's guilty and the man who's innocent when it's man against wife – even more so if it's man against ex-wife."

"Do you have any idea what you're gonna do?" Heath asked.

"Not until I see what the letter says," Jarrod said, "but whatever I do, I have to protect Gwendolen."

"So it's possible you'll do nothing," Nick said.

Jarrod's eyes took on that look he got when he felt for someone and knew he had to do something to help them, even if it meant trouble for him. "Not likely," he said. "It might just take a while to figure out how to handle it, but I'll handle it."

"You are one stubborn Barkley," Nick said, shaking his head.

"Take it from somebody who knows," Heath said.

XXXXXXX

The saloon was fairly quiet when Jarrod met Gwendolen there, so they had some time to sit together and talk, so long as he kept buying beer. Gwendolen gave him a copy of the letter she had written to Abel, saying, "It might not be word for word, but it's pretty close."

Jarrod read it. It wasn't as bad as he thought it might have been. Gwendolen professed her love for him, but she said nothing about how he might have felt about her. Gwendolen was thoroughly embarrassed, even turned her face away to cry at one point. Jarrod read the letter over twice and said, "Yes, this was a mistake, Gwen. What has Abel said to you about it?"

"That he knew you and I were having an affair," Gwendolen said. "I never said that, and I denied it when he said it, but Abel jumps to conclusions he doesn't like and sticks there, just because he loves to fight. He loves to feel like he's the victim and has every right to fight back."

"This does explain his attitude toward me on the cattle deal he just did with us," Jarrod said.

"You're doing business with him?" Gwendolen was a bit shocked.

Jarrod nodded. "My brothers lined it up, before they knew about the divorce case," he said and he pocketed the letter. "I'm going to keep this but I'll burn it by tomorrow. We don't need another copy floating around."

"I don't know what you can do to help me on this, Jarrod," Gwendolen said. "If I thought you could do anything, I'd have come to you before now.

"When did Abel actually stop paying you?"

"Not long after he started. I had to find work almost right away, and I've been working different places around town. I came here only a couple months ago."

"Oh, Gwen, why didn't you tell me right away?"

"I was just too embarrassed. I'm so sorry I did this. I was just – I don't know."

Jarrod said, "Gwen, you're not the first client who's thought she was in love with me. I'm your advocate and your confidant. It happens. But you must understand, if you don't already, that it's not really love. It's need. It's dependency."

"I know that, Jarrod," Gwendolen said. "That's why I never sent you the letter. I knew it the minute I wrote it."

"Why didn't you destroy it right away?"

"I don't know. It was a keepsake. I should have burned it rather than just throw it away when I left. I should have known Abel would go through the trash. Oh, that man!" Gwendolen seethed and pounded the table once.

It drew a funny look from the bartender, so Gwendolen got up, and so did Jarrod. "Give me some time to think about this, Gwen," he said. "And you think about whether you want to try to bring Abel in legally."

She shook her head. "No. No court around here is going to side with me. And don't worry if you can't think of anything to help me. I've got to live with what I've done."

XXXXXXX

Jarrod left the saloon and went looking for his brothers, not having any idea where they might be. Sacramento was a big town, but he was sure they'd be somewhere close to the hotel or the saloon. They were not the types to go sightseeing, especially without telling him. As he looked for them, he kept thinking about what he could do to help Gwendolen and he kept coming up empty. He hoped his brothers might have an idea or two.

He ran into Nick and Heath coming down the street toward the hotel. "Where did you two get to?" Jarrod asked.

"Well, we were nosing around," Heath said. "Found out a couple things that might help you."

"Like what?" Jarrod asked.

"Come on, let's get some coffee," Nick said.

They went into the hotel café and ordered coffee. It was served before Nick started talking again.

"We took a hack over to the rail station," Nick said. "Hill did ship those cattle out last night, but we ran into his foreman who was there finishing up the paperwork. Had a nice chat with him."

"And?" Jarrod asked.

"We found out who Hill is engaged to marry," Heath said. "Her name is Cecily Carter, daughter of a prominent judge here."

"Judge Carter," Jarrod mused. "Yeah, I know him, but we're not good friends or anything. Just acquaintances."

"Maybe you can do him a favor," Nick said.

"We got to thinking," Heath said. "That pre-emptive agreement Hill mentioned, to set out what would happen if he and his new wife got divorced. What's to keep you from going to Miss Carter and suggesting she get you to draw up that agreement and have her hand it to him?"

Jarrod smiled. "I like it, but I doubt Hill would go for it. He'd probably just dump her."

"According to his foreman, Hill is head over heels for this girl and for her father's money," Nick said. "You wouldn't have to wreck him completely with the agreement. Not enough to make him dump the girl. Just enough to irritate him."

"And how is that supposed to help Gwendolen?" Jarrod asked.

"Well, we thought you'd figure that part out once we gave you the rest of the idea," Heath said.

Jarrod thought. "I wonder if Gwendolen knows this Cecily."

Nick shrugged. "They'd have been in the same social circles at some point. Maybe she does."

Jarrod leaned back in his chair and thought some more. He did some math in his head, and did some other figuring. "You do make me wonder what Judge Carter would think if I told him about this little deal we just concluded with Hill." He looked at Nick and Heath. "If it were my daughter about to marry a heel like this, if I didn't want her to dump him, I would want her to be protected."

"That's what we thought," Nick said.

"Now I just have to figure out how to get something for Gwendolen in here, too."

"You're a bright guy," Nick said. "You'll think of something."

Jarrod smiled, a wicked little smile. It would be very satisfying to get something for Gwendolen and needle Hill at the same time by protecting his new intended. But how to do it without completely messing up the intended marriage? He didn't want to get himself into a position where he'd be accused of inciting this Cecily Carter to breach her agreement to marry Hill.

Still, there was a seed of something enticing here. "We better wire Mother," Jarrod said. "I think I might be here for a while."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

There were a lot of pitfalls in the notion of getting Abel Hill to sign a prenuptial agreement with Cecily Carter. While it would protect Cecily, it wouldn't do anything for Gwendolen, so there was still the question of what to do for Gwendolen. There was the risk that pushing too hard for a prenuptial agreement would break up the wedding plans, and there was plenty of precedent for a man to sue another man who broke up the marriage plans with his intended. And given that Hill's big interest in marriage to Cecily was her money, Hill would sue in a heartbeat if things went wrong and Cecily dumped him.

Jarrod wondered off and on if he should just walk away, like Gwendolen wanted, but then he thought about her living in a boarding house and working in a saloon when he had gotten her a divorce settlement that would have given her more. He thought about Hill getting away with shafting her, and his blood began to boil. He decided to take a long walk alone to try to figure this out.

As he did, he ambled by the courthouse. He didn't intend to go there, but his wanderings just took him in front of the place. He didn't even notice it until he heard someone call his name. He stopped and looked up – and there was Judge Carter coming down the stairs toward him.

Jarrod stopped and finally noticed where he was. He offered his hand to the judge as he came near. "Good afternoon, Your Honor," Jarrod said. "I'm afraid I've been wandering a thousand miles away. I had no idea I was in front of the courthouse."

"Karma, my good man, karma," Judge Carter said, shaking Jarrod's hand. "The gods have brought you here. I got wind of a deal you and your brothers just closed with Abel Hill."

"Yes, and I understand your daughter is engaged to marry him," Jarrod said.

"Let me walk with you a bit," Judge Carter said, and as he and Jarrod began to stroll together, he said, "I understand as well that you represented his wife Gwendolen when they divorced three years ago."

"Yes, I did," Jarrod said.

"Now, I'm not intending to pry into either of those transactions you've had with Mr. Hill, but bear in mind, I'm the father of a daughter who wants only the best for her."

Jarrod tried chuckling a little to ease the tension. "Any father would want that for his daughter."

"And I don't mean to imply that I don't trust the man, but I've heard that Gwendolen is working in a saloon and living in a boarding house. Couldn't you do any better than that for her?"

Now Jarrod didn't know what to say, not without giving anything confidential away. "You have me over a barrel, Judge," he ended up saying. "I have my client's confidences to protect."

"Well, let me run some rumor by you. You can correct me, or not."

Jarrod took a deep breath, but let him go on.

"You did get her a good deal, but he's welched on it and she's reluctant to take him back to court about it," the judge said.

Jarrod was surprised the judge knew that, but he didn't let on with word or body language that the judge was right.

"I also hear that the business arrangement you just concluded with him included a cash payment to him from your personal account."

Jarrod chuckled a little, unable to help himself. "You have a interesting pipeline of information, Your Honor." He could figure someone at the bank was on that pipeline.

"Then I'll ask point blank – did you have an affair with Gwendolen Hill?"

Jarrod stopped dead and glared at the judge. "Never. My relationship with her was strictly professional. I never saw her except in connection with her divorce. I saw her yesterday for the first time since her divorce, and that was by accident when my brothers and I went into the place where she works."

"Rumor says otherwise," the judge said.

"Rumor is wrong," Jarrod said, "and I trust my word is all the proof you need, Your Honor. You know me, and you know Abel Hill. Who do you trust most?"

"You," the judge said straight away. "The Barkley reputation is impeccable, and yours is as clean as any attorney I've ever known. But my concern is for my daughter. She'll inherit quite a bit of money when my time comes. I don't want to think Abel Hill wants to marry her because of that possible inheritance. I don't want her to end up like Gwendolen Hill."

Jarrod struggled with what to say. He did not want to be put in the position of breaking up Cecily Carter's engagement, but he didn't want to lie to a judge, even out of court. "You can protect her with a prenuptial agreement, if you're that concerned," Jarrod said. "I wouldn't want my daughter to end up like Gwendolen Hill either."

"Would you handle the prenuptial agreement for me?" the judge asked.

Now that he had to decide, Jarrod knew what his answer had to be. "You'd do better to find another attorney, Your Honor," he said. "That way you don't run the risk of complicating your daughter's relationship with Hill because of Gwendolen or me. You don't want to do that."

Judge Carter looked like he was thinking about that. Jarrod waited for him to respond. He finally looked at Jarrod and asked, "Why isn't Gwendolen going after him for welching on her settlement?"

Jarrod shook his head. "I can't say anything about that, Your Honor. Not without Gwendolen's permission, and I don't think she'd be willing to give it or talk to anybody about it."

"Even Cecily?"

Jarrod felt a jab go through him at that thought. Maybe Gwendolen would talk to Cecily, woman to woman. He didn't know, but, "The only way to test that out is for Cecily to go to see her and ask. But I don't think I ought to ask Gwendolen to do that. I think I'd better stay out of it."

Judge Carter nodded. "Perhaps you're right. Nice talking to you again, Jarrod," the judge said, and then he abruptly turned and walked back to the courthouse.

Jarrod felt a load of stress sink right out of him. _What was that?_ he asked himself. Maybe karma had steered him toward the courthouse – although it was more likely force of habit since this was where he was often going in when he was in Sacramento - but it wasn't karma that pulled Judge Carter out to see him. The judge had seen him out there. And it sure wasn't karma that gave the Judge all the correct information he had, including the rumor that something had gone on between him and Gwendolen.

Jarrod thanked his good sense that he'd extricated himself from being some sort of go-between in the Cecily – Gwendolen relationship, whatever it turned out to be. As tempting as it had been when he talked to his brothers about it, he knew when the judge actually asked that he didn't want anything to do with representing Cecily on a prenuptial agreement. That would muck up the waters too much and put him into an awkward situation he wanted none of. If Judge Carter wanted his daughter protected, they needed another lawyer.

Jarrod took a deep breath, took stock of where he was, and headed back toward the hotel where he and his brothers were staying.

XXXXXX

"I'd like to be a fly on the wall at that meeting," Nick said once Jarrod had described his conversation with Judge Carter, including a potential meeting between Gwendolen and Cecily.

The brothers were having dinner at the hotel – Jarrod did not want to risk another meeting with Gwendolen at the saloon where she worked, not yet anyway. "So, are we heading home tomorrow?" Heath asked.

"I don't think so," Jarrod said. "You and Nick can head out if you like, but I think I want to hang around a little longer, in case my client wants to talk to me again."

"Does she know where you're staying?" Nick asked.

Jarrod nodded. "I told her. And I'll bet you boys would like to find out how much Hill made on his sale of our beef at Grand Junction. Word on that ought to come in tomorrow evening or so."

"If it works out for Hill, we might consider trying getting our cattle to market by rail sometime," Heath said.

"If the money looks good," Nick said. "But knowing you, Big Brother, you're not gonna leave getting word of what happens between Gwendolen and Cecily to chance."

"No," Jarrod said. "I thought I'd drop by the saloon sometime late tomorrow, have another chat with Gwendolen. If Cecily's gonna get in touch, she'll probably do it by then."

"We ought to wire Mother and Audra, let them know we're still hanging on here," Heath said.

"We can do that in the morning," Jarrod said. "Tonight, let's just put all that to rest, enjoy dinner and drinks and then sleep. Lots of sleep."

Nick and Heath raised their glasses as Jarrod did, and Nick said, "Amen."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The Barkley men enjoyed sleeping in the next morning, catching a late breakfast and then splitting up to do some information gathering. Nick and Heath spent much of the day trying to find out about the cattle sales in Grand Junction, without coming anywhere near Abel Hill. Jarrod went to the land records office to nose around in the files about Hill's lavish property – did it have a mortgage? Was the man really as well off as he appeared? Then he went by the court records office to find out about any lawsuits or liens against the man or his property. It was just before dinner when the men gathered again in the hotel bar.

"He got a price seventeen percent higher than the prices we checked on the California markets the other day," Heath said.

"How'd you find that out?" Jarrod asked.

"Talked to a couple of his men at a saloon near the train depot. They had just gotten in. Hill did all right on our deal."

"I was hoping he'd take a bath," Nick said, "but it looks like he might have a money-making idea here, shipping cattle by rail. We might check it out next year."

"Well, it's probably lucky for him he did get such a good price," Jarrod said. "I looked at the land records – he has a big fat mortgage on that ranch of his, so big and fat he probably wouldn't be able to get a second one. And according to the court records, he has a couple judgments against him he hasn't paid off yet. Maybe he can at least get the judgments out of the way with his profits."

"Do you think he's not paying Gwendolen because he doesn't have the cash?" Heath asked.

"It's possible," Jarrod said. "It's no excuse, though."

Something suddenly caught Nick's attention. "Jarrod – " Nick pointed toward the doorway to the lobby.

Jarrod looked. Gwendolen was standing there, looking around. When she saw Jarrod looking her way, her eyes widened. Without a word, Jarrod went over to her. "Gwen, what are you doing here? I was going to come talk to you later."

"Jarrod, it's important. Can you come with me for a few minutes or so?"

"Where?"

"Over to where I work. Cecily came to see me this afternoon, and we talked, and now she's back and wants to talk to you. I've got her in a back room over at the saloon."

Jarrod was reluctant. "Gwendolen, I don't think it's a good idea I get involved between the two of you. You're still my client, and I can't take her on at the same time."

"I'm not asking you to. Just come talk to her for a minute, please."

Jarrod sighed. He gave his brothers a wave and left with Gwendolen.

"Well, we're on our own," Heath said.

"Yeah," Nick agreed. "I hope Jarrod's not getting himself into Pappy mode with this whole situation."

"It might not be Pappy mode we need to worry about," Heath said.

Nick looked at him. "You don't think he'd really get involved with Gwendolen."

"I hope not, but I get the feeling there's another one coming into the mix – Cecily."

"Naw, Jarrod would never get into that kind of triangle."

"Maybe not. But you know how it gets with some of his female clients. You know how it got with Gwendolen before."

"Naw," Nick repeated. "Jarrod won't let things get out of hand."

"It ain't all up to him, Nick," Heath said. "There's two women in this situation now who need help."

Nick understood where Heath was going with his thoughts, but he said, "Naw," again. And then hoped he was right.

XXXXXX

Jarrod would not talk with Gwendolen about anything as they walked over to the saloon. He did not want anything to be overheard by anyone on the street. They moved quickly and were soon in the back room of the bar, where Jarrod met Cecily Carter for the first time. She was waiting at a table, alone, crying.

Jarrod thought, _Oh, no_.

"Jarrod," Gwendolen said, "this is Cecily Carter."

Jarrod tipped his hat. "Miss Carter. Before we talk, I hope you realize that I am not your attorney and I can't be. Whatever you say to me, I can't keep confidential."

"I understand," Cecily said, dabbing her brown eyes dry. "I won't say anything to you that you'd have to keep confidential."

Jarrod and Gwendolen sat down at the table with her.

Cecily went on. "My father suggested I talk to Gwendolen, and she's told me all about her marriage to Abel and about the divorce and how he's refusing to pay her what he owes under the divorce settlement. I have to admit, it's been a terrible shock."

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Jarrod asked.

"My father seems to think I should call off my engagement to Abel," Cecily said. "I am not sure I want to do that, but if I don't, my father wants me to have Abel sign a prenuptial agreement before we marry. He thinks Abel is after my money."

"I understand that," Jarrod said.

Cecily heaved a sigh. "Do you think he is, Mr. Barkley?"

"Miss Carter, I can't say one way or the other," Jarrod said.

"Mr. Barkley, I saw you at the courthouse today, after I spoke with Gwendolen earlier," Cecily said. "I saw the offices you were going into. I'm a judge's daughter and I knew who you were and I know what it was you were looking into. I've heard rumors that Abel is having financial difficulties, but I coerced my father into not looking into it. I didn't want to know. Now, I want to know. Is he having financial trouble?"

Jarrod heaved a deep breath. "Miss Carter, the work I was doing today was for Gwendolen, my client."

"You may answer her, Jarrod," Gwendolen said.

Jarrod knew that was what Gwendolen would say, but he was still uneasy answering the question. "He has a substantial mortgage on his property, and there are several court judgments outstanding against him. On the other hand, he just completed a business deal with my family that made him a nice profit. If you are asking me, is he after your money to ease his financial burdens – I really can't say. I don't know."

"But you recommended the prenuptial agreement to my father," Cecily said.

Jarrod nodded. "Yes, I suggested the two of you consider it." Jarrod was beginning to feel like he was sinking into a pit of mud he wasn't going to be able to get out of.

But Cecily started to cry again. "It was foolish, I know, but I actually did fall in love with him."

"So did I, once," Gwendolen said.

Jarrod interrupted what he was afraid Gwendolen might say. "Miss Carter, neither one of us can tell you what to do. Neither one of us is going to tell you not to marry the man, or to get the prenuptial agreement before you do. Those decisions are entirely up to you."

Cecily dabbed her eyes dry again. "Are you married, Mr. Barkley?"

"No, I'm a widower," Jarrod said.

"Then you do know how marriage is from a man's standpoint."

Jarrod had to smile a little. "I only know how it was from my standpoint, Miss Carter. I can't begin to guess how it would be from Abel Hill's standpoint."

"I've been in love and engaged before," Cecily said. "He was a banker, very well off, and I thought I loved him, but it turned out he preferred gambling to my company. I called the wedding off and my father made sure he left Sacramento."

Jarrod's discomfort was growing every moment. "Miss Carter, this really isn't for me to help you with. Perhaps it's your father's advice you should be turning to right now," Jarrod said.

Cecily looked straight at Jarrod. "Did you love your wife?"

Jarrod wasn't expecting this conversation to take that kind of turn, but now that it had he fumbled with what to say. He swallowed before he said, "Very much."

Cecily looked at him very earnestly now. "I just want to know that there are men a woman can trust with her heart. I thought my first fiance was one of them, but he wasn't. I thought Abel was one of them, but now – now I don't think so."

Jarrod stood up. He had to get himself out of this. "Miss Carter, you should go home and talk with your father about what we've said here, about what Gwendolen has said to you. It's not our advice you need. It's his."

Cecily nodded and dabbed at her eyes some more.

"Gwen, can you take the time to see Miss Carter home?" Jarrod asked.

Gwendolen got up, nodding.

Jarrod said, "I'll come by later and we'll talk about your situation. Miss Carter, I wish you the very best."

Jarrod tipped his hat again and left as quickly as he could. All the warning bells in his head were clanging. _Do not get any deeper into this, do not get any deeper into this. There are two needy women here. This is trouble. Do not get in any deeper._ He left the saloon, feeling like he could finally breathe again once he got outside, and he hurried back to the hotel where he had left his brothers.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Jarrod, I think we'd better go home in the morning," was the first thing Nick said when Jarrod rejoined his brothers in the hotel bar.

"You and me both," Jarrod said, sitting down with Nick and Heath again, "but I do need to have one more conversation with Gwendolen and see if there's anything I can do for her."

Nick shook his head. "You're getting in too deep."

Heath quickly agreed. "Nick's right, Jarrod. I know how you feel about your clients and leaving them with nothing more you can do, but you're looking at a lot of trouble here."

"I know," Jarrod said. "Believe me, I know."

"What are you going to do if Gwendolen says she wants to go after Hill for her money when you talk to her again?" Nick asked.

Jarrod took a deep breath. "Well, that's the sticky wicket, isn't it? If she wants to do that, I'll have to help her."

"Why?"

"Because she is still my client, Nick. The matter I represented her on before – her divorce – is still not settled. I won't run out on a client who still needs me."

"She just talked to you about that Cecily woman, didn't she?"

Jarrod nodded. "She took me to talk to her, but I told her I couldn't be her lawyer."

"Do you think she got the message?"

Jarrod took a deep breath. "I think so, but I don't know for sure."

"Be careful, Jarrod," Heath said. "You don't need two desperate women in love with you."

Jarrod had that awful feeling in the back of his mind that it might already be too late about that. After the questions Cecily had asked him, the very personal questions, the possibility was hanging out there. Jarrod decided on the way back over here that he was not going to bring up that part of the conversation with his brothers. The moment he told them his own marriage had come up while talking with Cecily and Gwendolen, his brothers would each have him by one arm and would be dragging him back to Stockton.

"I know, Heath," Jarrod said, "and I bid Miss Carter farewell when I left her just now. She knows I won't be her attorney or her confidant or anything else."

Nick rubbed his forehead. "You may have doomed yourself, Jarrod. Don't expect a woman who's confused in love to act rationally."

Jarrod raised an eyebrow. "Brother Nick, you've never been the man in this family who knew what a woman was thinking."

"I've been taking lessons, hard lessons," Nick said.

"Whether Nick has gained some insight or not, he has a point, Jarrod," Heath said. "Walking away can make a woman want you more."

"Heath," Jarrod said, "in my line of work, I've had plenty of desperate women fall head over heels in love with me, or at least think they have. I'm not in new territory here. And women are not inherently foolish. So far every one of them has wised up about who I am to them."

"Go home with us in the morning, Jarrod," Nick said anyway.

Jarrod said, "Let me talk to Gwendolen later tonight. I'll let you know after that."

XXXXXXX

After Jarrod left them, Cecily did not get up as Gwendolen expected, so she sat down again. When Cecily first came to see her, Gwendolen had felt a little awkward about it, but they talked for quite a while, and having the same man – Abel Hill – as the one confusing their lives had brought them together fairly quickly. Gwendolen was sorry in a way that Jarrod could not give more advice to Cecily, but she understood his position.

"He's a nice man," Cecily said, watching Jarrod leave. "No wonder Abel thinks you're in love with him."

"I'm not in love with him, Cess," Gwendolen said. "I thought I was once, but it was need, not love. He's just my lawyer."

"I'll bet he's a good one, too," Cecily said, "and I'll bet he's trying to figure out how he can get Abel to start paying you again."

"He probably is," Gwendolen said, "but I don't think there's any way. And that's what you have to be careful of with Abel. He takes a lot more than he gives."

Cecily wiped her eyes. "I wish I knew what it was I felt for him. I think I love him and then I don't and then I do again – oh, why couldn't he be more like Jarrod Barkley?"

Gwendolen remembered now how it felt to be in love with Jarrod, so different from being in love with Abel Hill. She hadn't become disillusioned with Abel before she married him – as Cecily was doing. She wished every day that she had. Then he never would have pushed her into this corner she was trapped in. She might have met someone better than Abel and married him. Somebody like Jarrod. "Jarrod is a good man," Gwendolen said, "but he's not a man to fall in love with. He's just my lawyer."

"He's not mine," Cecily said, thinking.

Gwendolen knew what she was thinking. "Cess – don't do this. You're already in a big enough mess. Don't make it messier."

Cecily shook her head. "I know. It's just – to have two engagements go wrong on me now. I'm getting too old, Gwen. I need to be married. People are laughing at me."

"No, they're not," Gwendolen said. "People know you're the daughter of a judge. That's nothing to laugh at and they know it."

"Still – Jarrod Barkley is exactly the kind of man I've always wanted to marry."

"Cess, you only just met him!"

"My father knows him. He trusts him."

Gwendolen stood up. "Cecily, I think you need to be going now. You need to go talk to your father and figure out what you're going to do with the fiance you have before you start circling over another one."

Cecily stood up, offended. "I'm not circling over Mr. Barkley!"

"Good," Gwendolen said, sounding and feeling very protective. "Now, get on home and talk to your father. Figure out what you're going to do with Abel. You are engaged to him, not Jarrod."

"I know that!" Cecily said, and she went out fast.

Gwendolen sighed, feeling angry. How dare Cecily start aiming at Jarrod, when he was – Gwendolen sighed. _Jarrod is mine_ , she thought, and then she felt confused and stupid. Was she secretly hoping she could draw him back into her life? Had she been wondering if he would come to her rescue in every way, and take her away from this rotten saloon and terrible boarding house and anything to do with Abel Hill – and marry her?

How stupid, to fall into that trap again. Her feelings all spilled out in that letter, and that's what got her into this mess in the first place. Jarrod Barkley never loved her. She shouldn't start acting as confused and stupid as Cecily was acting.

But what if Cecily was aiming for Jarrod? What if she was the one who convinced him to rescue her? What if he fell in love with Cecily?

Gwendolen actually started to cry, but she quickly got rid of the tears. She had to go back to work. She had to be practical now, because if she did something to lose her job, she would really be in trouble. She couldn't let Cecily's confusion rub off on her and make her crazy, too. She sucked her feelings in and went back out to the bar.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

After dinner, Jarrod went back over to the saloon where Gwendolen worked and walked in. The room was crowded, and Gwendolen saw him before he saw her. Her heart fluttered, and she kicked herself for that. _He doesn't want you,_ she kept telling herself. _God, I wish he did, but he doesn't._

Gwendolen went over to where Jarrod stood just inside the door. He smiled when he saw her, but he could tell right away that her mind was troubled about something. He tipped his hat and asked, "Can we talk for a moment?"

Gwedolen nodded to an empty table far in the back. "Can I get you anything?" she asked as she led him there.

"A beer," Jarrod said.

Gwendolen fetched him the drink, and he watched her as she did. Her demeanor was far different from the one she had when he had come to talk to her and Cecily, and it bothered him. He wasn't sure whether to draw her out or let her come to him about whatever was bothering her, but he was sure it had to do with Cecily.

Gwendolen brought the beer over and sat down. "Thank you," Jarrod said. And then he decided to ask. "Did something happen after I left you and Cecily this evening?"

Gwendolen struggled with what to say. "She's a confused girl, Jarrod. She doesn't know what she wants – well, maybe that isn't it. Maybe she does know what she wants but she can't have it."

Jarrod didn't really hear sympathy in what Gwendolen said. "Did you two have words after I left?"

"Not exactly," Gwendolen said. "We only really met, and what with us both having problems with Abel, we talked very frankly right away and became friends, but…"

"But what?" Jarrod asked, and was afraid he knew what it was.

"What she wants is you," Gwendolen said.

Jarrod sat up straighter and sighed, thinking _Dear God, not again_. But he couldn't say it outright like that, because he could read the truth in Gwendolen's face. "And you're jealous," Jarrod said.

Embarrassed, Gwendolen turned very red and smiled awkwardly. She didn't know what to say.

"Gwen, you know our relationship has always only been professional," Jarrod said. "You know it can't be anything else."

Gwendolen nodded. "Of course, and I know me thinking otherwise got me into this mess, but Cecily has my head going around and just the thought of Cecily – " She stopped.

Jarrod said, "Cecily and I are never going to have any kind of relationship at all. As you said, she's confused, and she really doesn't know what she wants. I was kind to her, but there will never be anything between us – just as there will never be anything between you and me."

Jarrod knew that was awfully blunt, but he felt like he needed to be. And he felt like Gwendolen could take it.

And she did. She nodded.

"What can I do for you about Abel?" Jarrod asked.

Gwendolen shook her head. "As I said before, nothing. I don't want to take him to court."

"I could talk to him. I wouldn't threaten him with court, but at least he would know that I know he isn't living up to his agreement. That might mean something."

"Frankly, Jarrod, I don't want him to know that you know he's not paying me. I don't want him to know that you know about the letter. I just want to leave it all alone."

"I can understand that, but – "

Gwendolen got up. "No, Jarrod. You should just go back to Stockton and forget about me. Please."

Gwendolen went away then and began to give her attention to other men. Jarrod didn't even touch his beer. He just left money for it, got up and left.

Outside he stopped for a moment to get himself and his thoughts together. He hadn't expected his last talk with Gwendolen to go this way, and while he wasn't surprised Cecily was beginning to have feelings for him under the circumstances, he was a little surprised it was happening so fast. He sighed, exasperated. All he had ever wanted to do, from the first day he met Gwendolen, was get her what she deserved out of her divorce. He'd failed at that. All he got her was falling in love with him, and it was clear, she was still in love with him. Sure, this wasn't new territory for him, like he had told Heath, but it was never happy territory. Yet what could he do? Be someone he wasn't? Be less conscientious about his job and how he represented his clients? Never represent another woman for the rest of his career?

Now his head was spinning and he knew he was becoming foolish about it. He gave a sigh and headed back to his hotel.

And there she was, waiting in the lobby. _Oh, God_ , Jarrod thought. Cecily stood up from her seat when he came in the door.

Jarrod did a quick look around and did not see his brothers, thankfully. "Cecily, what are you doing here?" Jarrod asked when she came over to him.

"I was hoping I could talk to you a bit more," she said and stepped closer than Jarrod found comfortable.

"I already told you," Jarrod said, gently but firmly. "I can't help you. You need to talk things over with your father, and if a prenuptial agreement is what you want, you need to find another attorney to draw one up for you."

"That wasn't exactly what I wanted to talk about," Cecily said.

"I think I know what you want to talk about," Jarrod said. "Cecily, you're engaged to be married, and I am not looking for any romantic entanglement with you or any other woman. I'm not available to you in any way, professional or personal."

Cecily backed off half a step. "Is it Gwendolen?"

"Gwendolen is my client," Jarrod said.

"She loves you, you know."

"Whatever she feels is one way," Jarrod said. "I don't love either one of you, and I'm not going to. Now, you need to go home."

Cecily stepped closer again.

Jarrod backed away and headed for the stairs, saying, "Good night, Cecily. Good luck." And he got out of there as fast as he could.

Jarrod fled to his room and closed the door behind him. It slammed a little louder than he would have liked, but he was tired and exasperated and wanted nothing but his bed.

That was why when the knock came, he tore the door open and said, "Cecily – " before he realized it was Nick and Heath.

They came inside before he even let them in. He didn't want to deal with them either. This whole night, this whole day, this whole trip to Sacramento was getting to be a bit too much.

"Heard you come in, loud," Nick said. "And obviously, you weren't expecting us."

"It's under control, Nick," Jarrod said.

"We're leaving first thing in the morning, Jarrod," Heath said. "You're going with us."

"Nothing would make me happier," Jarrod said. "Now get out and leave me alone."

Jarrod went to pull the door open, but Nick leaned against it and closed it again.

"Nick – " Jarrod said, beginning to growl.

Nick quickly said, "We're not here to give you grief, Jarrod. Just want to be sure you're finished here."

"I am finished here," Jarrod said. "I am beyond finished here. Now go to bed and leave me be."

Nick nodded and opened the door himself. As they went out, Heath said, "Good night, Jarrod."

"Good night," Jarrod said and closed the door.

And locked it.

XXXXXXX

It was nearly quitting time for Gwendolen when suddenly Cecily walked into the saloon. This was not the time of day for a young woman of her breeding to be there, but there she was. Gwendolen hurried to her. "Cecily, you need to go home," she said quickly.

Cecily hung her head. "No, I just need a word with you. Can we meet when you get off?"

"Cess, we've said everything – "

"No, I've done some thinking and I know I've been a foolish girl up and down and all over the place with this, but I think I have my thoughts together now, and I think we can help each other. I'd like to talk to you, just for a few minutes. May I meet you when you get off?"

Gwendolen sighed. "All right, right out front here in five minutes."

Cecily nodded and smiled. "I'll be here."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Cecily was just outside the saloon door, standing in the light from the window, when Gwendolen left for the night. Gwendolen tried to stifle a sigh when she stepped toward Cecily, but she couldn't do it. "What do you want, Cecily?" she asked.

"Let's walk away a bit," Cecily said, and as they did, she said, "I went to see Mr. Barkley again. And I was ridiculous with him, absolutely ridiculous, and it made me take a good hard look at everything. Gwen, I want to marry Abel but I want a prenuptial agreement. I'll talk to my father about it as soon as I get home."

"That's good," Gwen said, "but what does it have to do with me? Jarrod isn't anything but my lawyer, and whatever you and he said to each other – "

"Oh, there's nothing between him and me, nothing at all, and there never will be," Cecily said. "I just flew out of control after our talk today. I didn't understand about Abel until you talked to me, and that sent me for a loop, and none of that matters now because I have myself back. And Gwen – " Cecily stopped with a large smile on her face. "I'm going to marry Abel, but I'm going to have a prenuptial agreement, and there's going to be another agreement as a condition of us marrying. He wants his hands on my money. Well, some of that's going to have to go to you."

Gwendolen nearly fell over. "Cess! No, no, that isn't right!"

"Oh, yes it is," Cecily said with a big grin. "And paying you what's owed you will be part of the prenuptial agreement, too, so he'll have to keep paying you even if he and I split up! Oh, I know he could just breach everything in the end, but if he does, he'll be making my father the judge very angry. Don't you see, Gwen? The worst he can do is dump me, and if he does, I can have him on breaching our agreement to marry!"

"But you could get stuck marrying him!"

"Oh, that's no problem. Who knows, we might actually work out well together once we get the financial matters all squared away. I did fall in love with the man, after all."

Gwendolen kept shaking her head. "Cess, you need to go home and talk this over with your father. You're not really making any sense."

"Oh, I will," Cecily said, "but Gwen, one way or another, I'm going to get what I want out of this, and I'm going to see you do, too."

Gwendolen almost had to laugh. "All right. All right. You talk to your father and we'll talk about this again." She really did not think the judge was going to see this as optimistically as Cecily was seeing it, but then the poor girl had had a lot thrown at her today. No wonder her head was spinning.

Cecily impulsively grabbed Gwendolen by the shoulders and kissed her. "And one way or another, we will be friends, I know it!"

"Sure, Cess, of course we will," Gwendolen assured her.

Cecily took off toward her home, not far from the courthouse. Gwendolen shook her head and finally did laugh as she went on home, but then she thought about everything Cecily had said. It was nearly nice to think about, and it was awfully tantalizing to think Cecily could actually pull it all off the way she thought she could. Wouldn't Abel Hill have a cow when Cecily put all this in his lap?

But Gwendolen wondered then what Jarrod would say if he knew about it. She took a deep, stabilizing breath. He might very well have a cow, too, although a cow of a different color.

XXXXXXX

In the morning, Jarrod woke up feeling a mixture of sad and ridiculous. Ridiculous to think all that confusion the day before had actually happened, and sad that he had left Gwendolen feeling as deserted as she had sounded. Ridiculous that two women here were probably vying over him, and sad that they were having so much trouble sorting their lives out that they had to look to him for rescue. Jarrod didn't dwell on any of that for long. He got up, cleaned up and made it down to breakfast in the hotel café before either Nick or Heath did.

"Have some coffee," Jarrod said when his brothers sat down with him.

"You sound like you already had three cups," Heath said.

"Only one," Jarrod said, "but I am eager to go home. The sooner we can leave, the better."

"No more long talks with anybody here?" Nick asked. "Got everything settled?"

"Not even remotely settled, but I've done all I can do," Jarrod said. "It's time to go home."

"I'm for that," Nick said.

They ate, then returned to their rooms to pack up. They met each other in the hall and headed downstairs together, ready to get their horses from the livery and get the heck out of this town, but as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Jarrod stopped, looking up. Nick and Heath stopped behind him. All three of them sighed at the same time.

There in the lobby, together, sat Gwendolen and Cecily. They stood up as they saw Jarrod. _Oh, no_ , Jarrod thought. And then it got worse. Jarrod saw a man turn away from the desk. It was Judge Carter.

Judge Carter came over wearing a big smile, his hand outstretched, saying, "Good morning, Jarrod."

"Your Honor," Jarrod said politely and shook his hand. "May I present my brothers, Nick and Heath?"

"Gentlemen," the judge said as Nick and Heath nodded greetings.

"Boys, why don't you pay our bills and start up toward the livery," Jarrod said, giving Heath his key. "I'll catch up to you."

Nick and Heath quickly dropped their keys and Jarrod's off at the desk, put money down for the bills and got out of there without another word.

Jarrod glanced at Gwendolen and Cecily, and said, "My brothers and I are about to head home to Stockton."

"I thought you might, after I had a very long talk with my daughter last night," the judge said, "and another talk with both these ladies this morning."

The judge took Jarrod by the arm. It was incredibly uncomfortable, but Jarrod went with him to where the women both stood. Jarrod tipped his hat when the judge let go of his arm. "Ladies," he said.

"We didn't want to leave without apologizing for getting you mixed up in our – " Cecily said but took a moment to find the right final word. "Situation."

"We realize we both left you with your head spinning yesterday," Gwedolen said, "and that's the last thing I wanted to do when you've been such a good attorney and a good friend to me."

Jarrod breathed a little easier and smiled a little. "You know I want the best for you, Gwendolen."

"And I think my daughter and her new friend have worked out an approach to get that," Judge Carter said, "and it doesn't involve you at all. We just wanted you to know that the three of us were going to have a chat with Mr. Hill about a prenuptial agreement and about him paying what he owes to the former Mrs. Hill."

"We wanted you to leave Sacramento without taking any worries with you on our account," Gwendolen said. Then she stepped up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Well," Jarrod said, somewhat flummoxed. "I hope everything works out the way you want it to."

Cecily gave Jarrod a small peck on the cheek too, and Judge Carter offered his hand again. "We'll let you go now, Jarrod. We're off to visit with Mr. Hill, and I'm sure you want to be well out of town before we do."

Jarrod gave an awkward chuckle, tipped his hat to the ladies, and got the heck out of there.

Nick and Heath were scarcely a block away, so Jarrod hurried and caught up with them. "All done?" Heath asked.

"All done," Jarrod said with a sigh and fell into step with them.

"Was he carrying a shotgun?" Nick asked.

"No shotgun," Jarrod said happily, and he picked up speed.

Epilogue

They did not hurry home, taking a few days to unwind before diving back into real life in Stockton. When they arrived at the house, they were covered with trail dust and hadn't shaved since leaving Sacramento. Their mother and sister were not really surprised, but the first thing Victoria said, even before giving them any greeting at all, was, "Don't sit down on the furniture."

Jarrod gave her a tiny kiss, leaning over so as not to get dirt on her. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"I have a telegram for you," Victoria said and pointed to the table in the foyer.

Nick and Heath looked at each other. Jarrod looked at the telegram like it might explode in his face. Jarrod picked it up anyway and opened it. When he read it, he gave a very relaxing, "Well, I'll be."

"From the judge?" Nick asked.

"Uh-huh," Jarrod said. And then he read it. "'All is well. Prenup being drafted. Hill giving Gwen all back payments and resuming alimony.'" He grinned. "Well, maybe I'm happy with that trip to Sacramento after all."

"Didn't you get a good deal on the cattle?" Audra asked.

"We did, but Jarrod lost a few dollars on the deal," Heath said.

"How in the world did that happen?" Victoria asked.

Jarrod folded the telegram and put it into his pocket. "That is one very long and convoluted story that will have to wait for me to bathe and shave. As the oldest, I claim the wc for the next hour."

He headed up the stairs. Victoria and Audra looked toward Nick and Heath for an explanation as to how Jarrod lost money on their cattle deal, but both brothers shook their heads.

Nick said, "Let's just say their names were Gwendolen and Cecily, and leave it at that."

The End


End file.
